Every Square Mile is a BBC pilot project to create a 'people's history' in the area of Runnymede and Woking. The BBC is asking the public to help us capture the events, personalities, legends and landmarks that make this area unique. Everyone has something to contribute.
Take a look at some of the frequently asked questions below, and visit the site here.
What is Every Square Mile? (Back to Top)
Every Square Mile is a BBC pilot project to create a 'people's history' in the area of Runnymede and Woking.
We are asking you, the public, to help us capture the events, personalities, legends and landmarks that make this area unique.
We believe everyone has something to contribute.
What is a pilot? (Back to Top)
A pilot is basically a small-scale trial of a project, run over a limited period of time. Its purpose is to test both the concepts underpinning the project and the technology used to deliver it, prior to a full-scale rollout.
In this way, the BBC can engage the public in helping make the most of the licence fee payers' money invested in the project. Public feedback will help us refine and develop the project to the point where it is ready to be rolled out nationally. Of course, there is always the chance that a pilot will prove the project isn't suitable for a full-scale rollout. This usually means that the project will be discontinued at the end of the pilot phase. Should this happen in the case of Every Square Mile, all contributions will be archived by the British Library, where you will be able to access them in perpetuity.
Why Runnymede and Woking? (Back to Top)
Every Square Mile is intended to create a 'people's history' of the United Kingdom. History is for everyone, not just an elite few. This project aims to help people to preserve the history that matters to them, and to allow them reach a consensus on the facts and what they mean. We believe that everyone has something to contribute.
In this way, Every Square Mile is inherently democratic, so where better to launch the pilot that the birthplace of democracy itself!
The pilot area was defined by drawing a rectangular box around the area covered by Runnymede Borough Council. This was subsequently extended south to include most of Woking after permission was given to double the population (rather than the area) covered by the pilot.
The Ordnance Survey coordinates for the ESM pilot are:
- North West corner: 498000:173126
- North East corner: 507000:173126
- South West corner: 498000: 157500
- South East corner: 507000:157500
What is a 'people's history'? (Back to Top)
Every square mile of the United Kingdom is steeped in thousands of years of history, but as people become more and more detached from the places where they live, work and play, more and more of the history of local places is being lost.
Every Square Mile aims to reverse this erosion of our rich national heritage, but this is a job too big even for a large organisation like the BBC. That's why we are asking the public to help us capture the history and heritage of their local area before it is too late. We need your knowledge!
There are good precedents for this. For example, the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was compiled with the help of more than 5 million contributions from the public.
History is for everyone, not just an 'elite' few. Every Square Mile aims to allow people to preserve the history that matters to them, and we believe that everyone has something to contribute.
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